Somatotopic organization along the central sulcus, for pain localization in humans, as revealed by positron emission tomography

Regional cerebral blood flow was measured with positron emission tomography (PET) in six healthy volunteers at rest and during experimentally induced, sustained cutaneous pain on the dorsum of the right hand or on the dorsum of the right foot. Pain was inflicted by intracutaneous injection of capsaicin, providing a mainly C-fibre nociceptive stimulus. Statistical analysis showed significant activations along the central sulcus (SI) area when comparing pain in the hand to pain in the foot. Separate comparison of both pain states to a baseline revealed different locations along the central sulcus for hand pain and foot pain. The encountered differences are consistent with what is previously known about the somatotopics of non-painful stimuli. When comparing painful stimuli to baseline, the contralateral anterior cingulate gyrus, the ipsilateral anterior insular cortex and the ipsilateral prefrontal cortex were implicated. The results are consistent with an involvement of SI in the spatial discrimination of acute cutaneous pain. Received: 17 October 1996 / Accepted: 12 May 1997     

Blood pressure reactions to acute psychological stress and future blood pressure status: a 10-year follow-up of men in the Whitehall II study

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine whether blood pressure reactions to mental stress predicted future blood pressure and hypertension. METHODS: Blood pressure was recorded at an initial medical screening examination after which blood pressure reactions to a mental stress task were determined. A follow-up screening assessment of blood pressure and antihypertensive medication status was undertaken 10 years later. Data were available for 796 male public servants, between 35 and 55 years of age upon entry to the study. RESULTS: Systolic blood pressure reactions to mental stress were positively correlated with follow-up screening systolic blood pressure and to a lesser extent, follow-up diastolic pressure. In multivariate tests, by far the strongest predictors of follow-up blood pressures were initial screening blood pressures. In the case of follow-up systolic blood pressure, systolic reactions to stress emerged as an additional predictor of follow-up systolic blood pressure. With regard to follow-up diastolic blood pressure, reactivity did not enter the analogous equations. The same outcomes emerged when the analyses were adjusted for medication status. When hypertension at 10-year follow-up was the focus, both systolic and diastolic reactions to stress were predictive. However, with correction for age and initial screening blood pressure, these associations were no longer statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study provide modest support for the hypothesis that heightened blood pressure reactions to mental stress contribute to the development of high blood pressure. At the same time, they question the clinical utility of stress testing as a prognostic device.     

Enzymatic removal of H-2 alloantigens from the surface of P815-(X2) mouse tumor cells

After treatment with papain (6 mg/ml) for 1 h, P815 tumor cells became resistant to complement-mediated lysis by mouse alloantibodies of different specificities. Immunofluorescence and absorption studies indicated that this resistance was associated with removel of the corresponding antigenic determinants from the cell surface. In contrast, papain-treated tumor cells were fully susceptible to lysis by rabbit antiserum against P815 cells, indicating a) no alteration of the membrane sensitivity to complement damage, and b) a dissociation between structure and/or localization of allo- and xenoantigens. Papain-treated cells were also completely resistant to lysis by cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) during the first 60 min after completion of the enzyme treatment. Susceptibility to lysis by either CTL or alloantibody and complement reappeared within a few hours after incubation in culture medium and was virtually normal by 6 h. Treatment of P815 cells with trypsin (2 mg/ml) had no effect on either humoral or cellular lytic activities.     

IR-und UV-spektroskopische Eigenschaften einer homologen Reihe von molekulareinheitlichen, 12gliedrige Ringe enthaltenden Leiteroligomeren

The reactions of multiple acrylates of oligo[(hydroxyphenylene)methylene] s ( 2a–2f ), strongly diluted in boiling benzene, with 2,2′-azoisobutyronitrile in a mole ratio of 1:10, were investigated. The elemental analysis and the determination of relative molar masses of the resulting products ( 3, 4, 5, 6a, 6b, 7a and 7b ) demonstrate that their molecules contain two nitrile groups. These data, together with the IR and UV spectra, show that the products are molecularly uniform ladder oligomers with two 1-cyano-1-methylethyl groups on both ends.     

Heat shock protein 60 from Chlamydia pneumoniae elicits an unusual set of inflammatory responses via Toll-like receptor 2 and 4 in vivo

Heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) from Chlamydia pneumoniae was described to trigger in vitro inflammatory and cytokine responses including TNF and IL-12p40. Although it can be found in atherosclerotic plaques of patients, the stimulatory potential of chlamydial and other HSP60 in vivo is unclear. We now report that chlamydial HSP60 fails to induce TNF expression in vivo, and significant serum levels of IL-12p40 are only found upon intraperitoneal injection of high doses of HSP60 or after intravenous application. Upon purification of chlamydial HSP60 with polymyxin B-agarose columns, its ability to induce TNF secretion in vitro is much reduced. However, purified chlamydial HSP60 causes increased serum levels of the CXC chemokines KC and MIP2 in vivo, as well as a strong accumulation of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) in the peritoneal cavity upon intraperitoneal challenge. With respect to PMN accumulation, chlamydial HSP60 is more potent than endotoxin or the CpG oligonucleotide 1668. The responses observed are completely abolished in Toll-like receptor (TLR)2/4-double-deficient mice, while single-deficient mice respond almost normally. Furthermore, KC induction and PMN accumulation are largely dependent on MyD88. In conclusion, HSP60 from C. pneumoniae triggers inflammatory responses in vivo that differ from responses induced by endotoxin or CpG oligonucleotides and are dependent on TLR2 and 4.     

Cytotoxicity, thiol depletion and inhibition of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase by various aldehydes in cultured human bronchial fibroblasts

Lipid peroxidation aldehydes of the 4-hydroxy-, ß-unsaturatedtype, as well as the tobacco-smoke related , ß-unsaturatedaldehyde, acrolein, were highly cytotoxic and decreased theintracellular thiol content in cultured human bronchial fibroblastsafter treatment with micromolar concentrations. In comparison,formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were less toxic and 100- to 300-foldhigher doses were required to affect cell survival or thiollevels. The unsaturated aldehydes also markedly inhibited theDNA repair enzyme O⁶-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase knownto have a cysteine residue in its active site, but had no effecton the activity of uracil-DNA glycosylase. Our results indicatethat reactive aldehydes of either exogenous or endogenous originhave direct cytotoxic effects and may also make cells more susceptibleto other toxic chemicals due to an impairment in cellular defensemechanisms, e.g., DNA repair and detoxification by systems requiringglutathione.     

Cancer of the esophagus. The Cleveland Clinic experience.

The therapy and survival rates of patients with esophageal carcinoma at the Cleveland Clinic over the 12-year period 1969-1980 are reviewed. Data on 238 patients were analyzed. Seventy-one per cent of the patients underwent surgery, with esophagogastrectomy being performed in half of these. One or more early postoperative complications occurred in 72.6% of these patients. Most of these complications were pulmonary and related to the patients' chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The mortality rate for esophagogastrectomy at the Cleveland Clinic has decreased over the past 15 years to 7.1%. The 5-year survival rate after "curative" esophagogastrectomy was 15.4% with a mean survival time of 34.4 months. Invasion of the tumor through or beyond the serosa in this group of patients was associated with an increased relative risk of death of 3.3 compared to those with lesser degrees of invasion. The cell type, degree of differentiation, stage of disease, and presence of tumor at the lines of resection were all prognostically significant for all patients.